Mads Mikkelsen Bolts On Thor 2, Cites Commitment To Hannibal

Thor has vanquished his next opponent … and he didn’t even need his hammer. Mads Mikkelsen was set to play a villainous role in Thor 2, but his commitment to NBC’s Hannibal will prevent him from participating in the Marvel sequel.

Zoomin Movies (via The Playlist) confirmed the exodus. Here's what they quote Mikkelsen as saying...

“Yeah, that's not happening unfortunately. I had a meeting with them, but they were a little too late. And then Hannibal came in, and everything just came in the same period, so now it's not happening,"

We didn’t even know who Mikkelsen was going to play, but any production that loses an actor of his caliber takes a step backwards. Now Marvel and director Alan Taylor will scramble to recast the role so they can stay on progress for a Nov. 8, 2013 opening.

Ironically, David Slade cited Hannibal as the reason he had to beg off of directing the Daredevil reboot for 20tht Century Fox. Not a Marvel movie, but a movie about a Marvel hero. This Hannibal show better be awesome. Mikkelsen is going to be the latest actor to play Hannibal Lecter. At this moment, NBC has ordered 13 episodes of the new program, which will feature the clever doctor solving crimes alongside FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy).

If it’s good, we can forgive Mikkelsen for bailing on Thor 2 (and Slade for tossing Daredevil back into cinematic lingo). If it bombs, a slew of comic book fans will be left to wonder what might have been. Maybe Marvel will have some exciting confirmation at its Comic Con panel Saturday night. Stay tuned for more details as they emerge.